All we hear is radio ga ga

Radio goo goo

Radio ga ga

All we hear is radio ga ga

Radio goo goo

Radio ga ga

All we hear is radio ga ga

Radio blah blah

Freddy Mercury

Every day we are confronted with a multitude of choice, if we remain unconscious in this wealth of information, it can easily become just background visual noise that loses meaning, and becomes internet goo goo or ga ga. (or just google)

Due to the onslaught and almost nauseating amount of flattened visual and cultural input available to the contemporary architect, it is ever more crucial that we become adept at analysing this STUFF. For architects, this STUFF extends into various aspects of the field, but for the purposes of this article I would like to focus mainly on visual and cultural STUFF, and how it impacts the way we produce architecture.

So, how can we be more accepting and at once remain critical of all this information, so that it does not become simply goo goo or ga ga? If we are resistant to STUFF during this current tidal wave of information, we may be somehow missing out. Therefore it is important that we not only learn how to manage the amount and quality of information that we take in, but also actively participate in that process; that we be constantly collecting information in an active rather than passive way. As a participant observer the architect must be constantly be aware amid this vast sea of goo goo and ga ga to make it a useful tool in the process of creation. If achieved, this STUFF can be given significant value as a tool for transforming visual and cultural aspects of architecture in a positive way.

In the 1940s Fernando Ortiz coined the term transculturation, which describes the process of multiple cultures fusing with one another to create new common cultures. This process became more relevant during colonialism, but  one could argue that the topic has become ever more relevant with increased availability to a multitude of cultures through global networks and the WWW.  Not only has this process become more significant, but it is something which constantly challenges us as designers, due to an accelerated rate of change.

The goal is to be aware of what is being delivered, what is useful, and what is being re-distributed by the architect. Only then can architecture actively engage in the inevitable process of transculturation, which is taking place at hyper speed, with an understanding that the aim is not to produce universality or singularity. The so called difference and complexity which has been pursued during the past 15 years, mixed with fetishizing digital tools, has only resulted in shiny metal sameness. These universal approaches to architecture, which the technophiles propose have become outdated self-referential systems, which actually resist cultural complexity, and can only produce singular design visions. If we now understand that complexity has been confused with what was actually just difficulty, then we can move towards an engaged complexity that requires inclusive diligence.

By mastering this flow of information the architect can assume a more comprehensive and directed role as a composer of information. Thus, if we understand our role of architect as a compiler or composer, rather than that of an artistic authoritarian, then we see this dynamic universe of STUFF as an opportunity for developing a multitude off messy difference. Aligning with Robert Venturi, where he quotes in Nonstraightforward Architecture: A Gentle Manifesto “By embracing contradiction as well as complexity, I am for vitality as well as validity” and he states again later “I am for messy vitality, over obvious unity”.  By harnessing the visual and cultural information that surrounds us, we are hopefully liberated from the self-imposed rules implied by unification and can begin to actively engage with the process of transculturation. With a tuned ability to orchestrate the wealth of visual data available to us, architects can then become less Moses on the Mountaintop, delivering the laws of architecture, and simply be more like a DJ, delivering an exquisite track.